Adore Bullock: Yoga Journal Blog

     In my practice space, yoga is used as a form of meditation. Since practicing yoga is how I escape, tuning to the meditative aspect of it is what makes me feel centered and rejuvenated. Although I meditate through yoga and do not meditate alone, I eventually wish to develop this ability. For now, I would like to focus on gaining more yoga experience. Once my yogic abilities are adequate, I can further my education of meditation to add a meditative portion to the end of each yoga session.      However, I currently practice meditation by way of yoga. This consists of obtaining a sense of mindfulness. I try my best to keep my mind from wandering and solely focus on my body and the task it is performing. I keep particular things in mind, like my proprioception and my senses, such as the carpet under my feet while standing in my practice space (bedroom). Additionally, the patterns of breathing that take place during my yoga practices play a role in upkeeping...

     This week we did not practice yoga as a class. Instead I decided to get my session in before our class time. I turned to YouTube for a thorough, yet beginner friendly online session. The video I chose came from the channel Yoga with Adriene and is titled "Yoga to get the juices flowing- Morning Yoga". I have done yoga before bed on multiple occasions. I wanted to try yoga first thing in the morning to judge the potential difference in the quality of my day.      To begin, Adriene guides us through a stretch sequence. The sequence was so much more satisfying than the typical big stretch that I experienced when I first hop out of bed.  From this point, I felt mentally grounded and bodily prepared. My body felt as though it was now awake and ready "to get the juices flowing". Her constant big breaths were followed by ones of my own, as hers were a reminder to me. Although I tend to be forgetful of my breaths, it is the most transformative part of the...

     Today's yoga session was instructed by Jen Kretzer, who held a shivananda practice. I was relieved that she practiced along with us while simultaneously facilitating the class since I am a visual learner and perfectionist. Because of this, I was assured of my pose executions. This has been my first time practicing shivananda. I was introduced to new aspects of yoga such as pranayama techniques I had not known existed like the open/close nostril breathing. Now that I have experienced shivananda, I can confidently say that it is my favorite so far. I'm not sure if it was this form of yoga itself or the instruction of Jen or both, but I was totally engaged in the session. I am interested in taking another shivananda class to further explore my new found preference.        I enjoyed how the sequence in which we practiced was cohesive. Jen began pranayama techniques, followed by a warm up. The feeling of easing into the practice made for a be...